What Do Indepedent Publicists Do?

Good morning from my perch at the Jersey Shore, where it is a spectacular weather day. I’m lucky to live on the water and work from my backyard. Here’s my current view, which is not too shabby.

Today’s newsletter topic is something I’ve previously written about, but never a bad thing to revisit. Every time I read a piece about independent publicists, the facts are incorrect or overgeneralized. While I can only speak for myself, I know many of my colleagues will agree with what I’m about to write.

What Do Independent Publicists Do? Should You Hire One?

No other profession in book publishing gets a bad rap quite like independent (and in-house) publicists do. We’re either a waste of money or people who “didn’t do much.” We are often blamed when a book doesn’t succeed. We are judged mostly by results instead of the total sum of our work. I could go on. The truth is, I have been hearing these things my entire career, so yes, it does make me cranky when I keep reading pieces on this platform that seem to devalue what independent publicists do. The following isn’t a comprehensive list, and it doesn’t apply to every independent book publicist, but it’s a good guide for authors and others:

We Provide Strategy

When I work with an author, I want to hear about their career: where they’ve been, where they are, and where they want to go. This helps me create a strategy for them that can last beyond their current book. It’s not only about media; it is also about elevating an author’s profile so they have name recognition. I often tell authors to visualize themselves at a publishing conference or other event where they’re wearing a name tag. Will people recognize your name when it is not attached to the title of one of your books? That is a good litmus test for author branding. While most publishers can focus only on your book, independent publicists can focus on both your career trajectory AND your book. When you have a discovery call with a publicist you’re considering hiring, talk to them about your goals beyond your book’s publication date. My caveat here is that some independent publicists are truly only “launch” publicists, meaning they will only take clients launching a new book and create a media plan for a specific time frame leading up to and around its publication date. That is okay! We all have our preferences. I am more of a big-picture thinker, so I prefer strategy.

We Pitch Media (and Creators)

Here is where things get murky. Yes, at the most basic level, publicists pitch creators and media. However, that is far from the only thing we do. If I’m being honest, pitching is my least favorite part of the job. It is tedious and can make you feel like a failure when barely anyone responds. Creators are a whole different story. I don’t believe in cold-pitching them, so cultivating those relationships takes a lot of legwork and time. What I really want to impart here is that my job is about 30% pitching. Yet it is still widely believed that all independent publicists do is pitch. If such were the case, I would have given this up a long time ago. My caveat here is that I actually love pitching podcasts because most people are super responsive. The same applies to blogs and some newsletters.

We Help Authors Understand the Publishing Process

The majority of my clients are not published by the Big Five. They are either self-published, hybrid, or are being published by independent presses. They often do not have agents. In these cases, and in some cases where an author is being published by the Big Five, I often explain how the publishing industry works. That can include anything from teaching authors about white box mailings, the Indie Next list, how printings are determined, what they should ask their publisher to do, and more. My caveat here is that I have experience as a marketing director, associate publisher, acquisitions editor, and literary agent, so I tend to look at the whole process rather than just which media I’ll pitch.

We Create Social Media Strategies

While many publicists don’t offer marketing services, others do. I do so on a case-by-case basis. If a book lends itself well to a social strategy, I will tell the author during our discovery call (a discovery call is your initial Zoom, etc., with a publicist to see if you are a good fit for each other). The most common roadblock is that some authors simply don’t want to engage with social media, and I am here to tell you that is a mistake. We know a lot of you hate having to post, but with a good content strategy, it can actually be less painful. Fun, even. A couple of caveats here: Authors need to work on content strategies long before their publication date. If you are two months out from your book’s publication, it’s late. You don’t have to be on every platform. I’m a big believer in choosing a platform where you are most comfortable (or it feels the least painful). A social strategy will help you connect directly with readers, and you REALLY need to do that.

We Help Launch Newsletters

Again, not all publicists are equipped to do this, but some of us brainstorm with authors about what kind of newsletter they can launch, how to do it, and where. Doing this, along with a social strategy, will help you learn to build an audience. The second part of that is learning how to engage with an audience to convert them into book buyers. That is something media is not very good at.

We Schedule and Run Events

Many independent publicists are tasked with organizing and running author events. This can range from traditional book signings to offsite events to parties. You name it, we’ve probably done it. I like handling some of this, but even after 30 years, events make me anxious because I always think about what’ll happen if no one shows. It’s a professional hazard.

We Help with Book Proposals

This is another case where not all book publicists can offer a service. I’m very selective about book proposal projects. I have to assess whether something is “there” first, and then I decide whether to engage with the author. My niche in book proposals is nonfiction, and I am pretty quick to say yay or nay. I can only take on projects like this once in a while because they are so labor-intensive. For example, I am currently working on a book proposal with someone, which requires a lot of work on both our parts, so I wouldn’t take on another at this time. That said, I can assess nonfiction book proposals quickly, so if you want an objective eye, a publicist who offers this service can be helpful.

We are Connectors

My philosophy in work is that you always need to “know a guy (or girl.” Meaning, you know someone who might be able to help an author with production, copyediting, legal issues with the book, etc. We may also have relationships with agents, editors, and publishers through which we can bring an unpublished project to them. Personally, I am protective of my contacts, so I am extremely selective about bringing projects to them (again, my niche here is nonfiction). I have a pretty good understanding of who publishes what and what projects can sell, so I’m judicious. When publicists assemble a publishing team for a self-published author, we vet people to ensure they can provide good services.

We Tell You Why Something Won’t Work

People who know me know that I am not a “yes” person. I think that is probably also a weakness of mine in the industry, and why I never functioned well in a corporate environment. When I don’t think something will work, I voice my opinion. I know from people who “hate-read” this newsletter (Hi!) that there are definitely those who dislike my opinions, and that is okay. I am not, and have never been, a person who will sign off on something for its own sake. I will tell you exactly why I don’t think something will work, or why it is a waste of time. Does everyone listen to me? They don’t, and sometimes that means I can’t continue working with them, or vice versa. I’ve found that in book publishing, a lot of people only hear what they want, and I will be the first to admit that I have a hard time with that. Blame my mom, who was no-nonsense and had a strong personality at work. I’d also ask you to think about this: Do you really want someone who will just agree with everything, or someone who will be honest? Your choice.

We Work with Different Budgets

Every time someone writes that a publicity campaign costs upwards of $40K, my head explodes. I often wonder how many publicists people actually talk to who give them a price range, because I know SO many great ones who do not charge an arm and a leg. It is a pure myth that hiring an independent publicist has a $25K starting fee. If such were the case, I would probably have little business. Further, if I were charging, say, $60K per campaign, I’d take on four clients per year and call it a day. I’d actually love to know what kind of campaign costs $60K! Here is the truth: You should not go into debt to hire a publicist. You should not use your entire advance to hire a publicist. You should talk to a publicist, maybe even have a paid consultation with one, but do not put yourself in financial peril. We work with authors who have different budgets, and we price our services based on the scope of work for a project, so you probably won’t see prices on our websites or hear us quote a fee during a discovery call. Now, all that said, the truth is that the more we charge, the fewer clients we need to take on, which means more attention for each project. A hard truth to acknowledge is that the more someone pays, the more attention they will probably receive. This is not always the case, but it is hard to justify a lot of work for only a little bit of money. You must remember all the invisible work publicists do: writing pitches, researching contacts and media, list-building, pitching, follow-ups, etc. All of this is extremely time-consuming, and our time is money. Nothing good will come from trying to nickel-and-dime an independent publicist. Most of our rates have not increased with the cost of living.

We Help You Define Your Audience

Theoretically, by the time your book is acquired, you should know its audience. Such is not always the case, so some of us help authors define their respective audiences and then strategize about how best to reach them. This requires so much more than simply pitching media. It is also under the audience development umbrella, which leads back to content creation.

We Can Help You Have Hard Conversations

Publicists are often de facto therapists, so it shouldn’t surprise you that we often coach authors when they must have a hard conversation with an agent, editor, or publisher. A bedrock of our job is the ability to finesse things. Take us up on it.

I’m probably missing something on this list, but I hope you get the gist of what it is independent publicists do. Now, let’s discuss whether you should hire one.

Your Budget

Budget is a huge factor, and as I mentioned above, no author should go into debt to hire a publicist. It is not worth it, and it is more likely than not that your book sales won’t make that money back for you. However, if you have a budget in mind, be forthcoming about it when you first reach out to an independent publicist. I appreciate people who tell me their budget up front because it saves everyone time. It makes no sense to talk to a publicist, have them put time into doing a proposal (for free, mind you), only for you to say you can’t afford it. If you don’t have at least $5K to spend, you probably can’t hire a publicist. I’m sure there are those who will accept less money, but that is my personal floor, and I can’t budge from it because I have bills to pay like everyone else. A lot of my fees go right back into my business, too. Independent publicists must pay thousands of dollars for media databases and for things like Wi-Fi, paper, printers, new laptops when needed, mailing supplies, subscriptions, cell phones, and more. None of us are summering on a yacht, is what I’m saying (if you are, please invite me).

Your In-House Team

I want you to listen to me: Do not sign on with a publicist until you have a solid idea of what your in-house team is doing. They might be able to cover everything, so you really need to think about what it is an independent publicist will bring to the table. Hiring an independent publicist does not guarantee a spot on the bestseller list. Try to get as much of a sense as possible of what your in-house marketing and publicity team are doing FIRST. If you want to have an early conversation with some publicists, that is fine. What is not fine but occurs regularly is independent publicists creating a plan early on, an author liking it, and then never hiring the publicist because they gave the plan to their in-house team—or to a different publicist who costs less. There’s nothing we can do about that, but just know it’s not cool. If you don’t have an in-house team, it’s a different story. You can hire people at will, and probably earlier than an author with one.

Your Timeline

Every book, whether traditionally published or otherwise, needs a sufficient runway up to its publication date. Only in rare cases is a book the type that needs to be published quickly (we call these crash books). A sufficient runway is 6 months, give or take. I can make 3-4 months work for specific books, but not many. It’s not enough time to, say, pitch and schedule podcasts. It takes about three follow-ups before podcast hosts/producers respond, and then there is back-and-forth about dates, etc. If you can help it, there is no reason to rush a non-topical book into the world. If your publication date is in two months or less, a publicist can’t do much. If they tell you they can, I’d be very suspicious. I often decline projects with imminent publication dates because I can’t just drop everything else I’m working on. In very rare cases, a project will come my way with a fully justified pub schedule, and I’ll take it on because I see the potential. Conversely, I’ve had inquiries about 2028, and that is just too far out for me to make a decision. Right now, I am booking projects for February-November 2027. I’d say talk to me about 2028 by April/May 2027.

Your Willingness

This is probably the most important point I’ll make here. If you don’t want to do the work to promote your book, do not waste money on hiring a publicist. This includes, but is not limited to: Declining podcast interviews, refusing to listen to guidance about your platform or lack thereof, outsourcing writing guest posts/essays, being unresponsive when interview requests are sent to you, and having the mindset that the publicist should be doing every single thing to promote your book while you disappear. It doesn’t work that way, and it can’t. At the end of the day, when you are tempted to say that you hired a publicist, but it was a waste, I want you to really ask yourself this question: Did I do everything possible in my power to promote this book? Answer it truthfully. I’m not even implying that by “everything,” I mean how much money you spent. Hardly. I mean, did YOU do only what an author can to promote your book? Did you connect with the literary community? Did you cultivate relationships with creators? Did you develop your audience? Did you follow best practices in your content strategy? Were you available for interviews, and did you respond to your publicist within 24 hours of an interview request? Have you endeared yourself to booksellers? I know these questions are overwhelming, but you’d be surprised by how many authors think participating in book promotion is optional. It is not.

Your Personality

At this point in my career, I’ve seen it all, but I’m still shocked by an author’s behavior every now and then. I prefer to have very friendly relationships with my authors. For example, the kind of relationship where we can go grab coffee and chat, or where you ask me to show up to a dinner to support you and I do. If we’re on those terms, we'll likely also text, which is a privilege, not a given. Publicists have lives too, and while we do work a lot, we also need to protect our private time. It is good practice to ask a publicist if it is okay to text them before you do. If you decide to follow your publicist on social media, make sure you understand their vibe on a platform first. Understand that if they accept your friend request on Facebook, they are giving you access to their world. Remember that their platform belongs to them, so they may or may not use it to promote their clients. Additionally, your publicist might get quoted in articles about book publishing. That doesn’t mean they had an opportunity to pitch you to the journalist they were speaking with. Usually, journalists get in touch about specific stories, so there isn’t an opportunity to slip in a client. It’s usually an inappropriate time. Every author handles these things differently. Some people prefer a purely professional relationship, while others are much warmer. Something to remember is that hiring an independent publicist should be a collaborative experience. No one likes having orders barked at them.

Your Book

I saved the best for last. Out of all the things I’ve written here, this is the most important when you consider hiring an independent publicist. Your book is the reason you’re even talking to a publicist, so please make sure you have the following information (or as much of it as possible) before you have a discovery call:

-Publication date or month

-Whether or not your publisher is creating digital and/or printed ARCs and when (hint: if they aren’t supplying these at all or are supplying them less than four months before publication, it’s a problem)

-Your cover (if possible, sometimes these are late)

-Whether or not your publisher will supply books to send to media, etc.

-Your publisher’s marketing and publicity plans (by reviewing these, a good publicist can tell if your book is a priority for the publisher)

-Whether or not your publisher is sending you on a book tour, or if you are self-funding a book tour

-If you are self-funding a book tour, be honest with the publicist about the stores you want to visit: Can you promote the events? Can you ask someone to be a conversation partner? Have you visited the bookstore? Do you have ties to the area? If the answer to each question is “no,” you need to revisit the idea of a book tour

-A realistic wish list of media—meaning, you have listened to/watched/read this media outlet and can tell us why you are a good fit

-A list of questions for the publicist

-A solid idea of your budget WITHOUT taking on debt

I’m probably missing some things, but this is a pretty exhaustive list you can refer to. I hope this has been helpful!

END NOTES:

What I’m Reading: A Real Animal by Emeline Atwood (no relation to Margaret). This is an intense book, and I will say upfront there are a lot of triggers. The story follows Lucy, who begins her story with a psychotic break where she believes she is a leopard, and continues through a decade of mishaps and violence (she is raped early on in the book). I started it this weekend, and I am already 150 pages in. I can’t stop reading this book. Atwood expertly handles writing about very bad things that happen to Lucy in her early 20s, though the book spans a decade—I just haven’t gotten there yet. I find myself taking small breaks from the intensity, but quickly jump back in because the writing is so good. This book is not for everyone; it is dark. Some things that happen to Lucy are very hard to read about, but the author balances it out with glimmers of hope. I wasn’t surprised to see that Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review. This is an author to watch.

What I’m Watching: I binged The Five Star Weekend on Peacock Saturday, and all I kept thinking was: 1) I would’ve had the whole thing catered and 2) This is why I keep my friend circle extremely small. 3) How do an influencer and a doctor afford THAT house? I thought it was a fun binge.

What I’m Listening to: Yesterday was an old R&B day at my house.